"Mining" for specials

[Venger]

What precisely does this entail? Converting grassland to prairie and then back to try to convert to a shield producing grassland? Or are you trying to fiddle fart around with grassland to forest to plain to grassland etc. to convert grassland to buffalo? I was under the impression you couldn't convert a non-special to a special square if it didn't fall into the original layout of specials...

Venger

[Ming]

Yes, special resources appear in three and four patterns. If there is a grassland with dot in the pattern, you can transform it into a special (most of the time). Just look at the Chart to see what can appear based on what terrain you want. Later in the game, this is an added bonus once food doesn't matter

[Smash]

As far as i know specials only appear in the "pattern" cept around latitude 0.Specials don't appear on grass.So if you change a grass to forest and no special appears,then changing it back to grass then to plains won't change anything either.

it doesn't have to be sheilded grassland to get a special either.Found that out mining nearby potential city sites in an OCC game.

The bigger the map,the more you will have to mine specials.
[This message has been edited by Smash (edited April 30, 2000).]

[RichardX]

...or perhaps you should use your engineers and time to build roads, irrigate and found new cities instead of just wasting your time trandforming terrain...

[SmartFart]

Holy words brother Rich

[Ming]

It gets to a point when your settlers/engineers are looking for something to do while waiting to clean up polution...
Until then, I don't bother unless it is to strengthen a defensive position, or it is a super science city, and I want a trade special

[The Mad Monk]

Venger, open the map editor and generate a blank (ocean) map; note the pattern of whales and fish. Use the "Set Resource Seed" command to change the distribution, including large numbers and negative numbers. Anyone who wants to 'mine' specials more effectively in any game of civ will find this instructive. Finally, paint a large swath of grassland--this will demonstrate its pattern effectively.


------------------
The Mad Monk

"The capacity of a grass leaf to grow from the sheath
at its base is a useful adaptation to herbivore grazing.
It has also resulted, over the eons, in the piteous
spectacle of thousands of hominids vibrating behind
their lawnmowers from spring to fall."

-Someone's AP Biology Textbook

[The Mad Viking]

The pattern runs in horizontal rows. Every other row has specials, except after about 5 or 6 rows of alternating specials / blank rows, there are 3 consecutive blanks.

Most rows have a special every eight tiles. Count from a special, leave seven blanks to see if there is a special in your grassland.

Some rows have a special , 4 tiles, special, 2 tiles, repeat. They are easily found.

Like Ming said, when you have an engineer on standby for pollution control, its worthwhile. Also, you may have a city with only grass and plains - worth mining a special to increase production.